SingTel's revenue up 5.3 per cent

Subatra Suppiah |
Nov. 12, 2008

Strong growth from Singapore and Australia

SINGAPORE, 12 NOVEMBER 2008 - Singapore telco SingTel's group operating revenue grew 5.3 per cent to S$3.89 billion (US$2.59 billion) in the second quarter from a year ago. This was boosted by strong performance across Singapore and Australia where both recorded their best quarterly growth in the postpaid mobile market in recent years.

Underlying net profit in the quarter fell 12 per cent to S$801 million because of the iPhone 3G initiative, the weaker regional currencies, lower earnings from Indonesian cellular telecommunications firm Telkomsel caused by price competition and the inclusion of a S$41 million post-tax loss from Warid Telecom, an Abu Dhabi-based mobile telecommunications company.

Net profit declined 12 per cent to S$868 million after including the exceptional items and the currency translation gain of S$67 million in the quarter. Free cash flow was stable for the first half of the financial year at S$1.7 billion compared to a year ago.

Double-digit growth in Singapore business

Ms Chua Sock Koong, SingTel's group chief executive officer, said: Singapore and Australia both achieved impressive results, with Singapore recording double-digit revenue growth and Australia accelerating its mobile revenue growth. We further demonstrated our leadership in Singapore as the only operator to bring in the much anticipated iPhone 3G and in Australia we captured the majority share of the iPhone 3G activations.

The Singapore business had another quarter of strong performance with double-digit growth in revenue driven by the mobile and data businesses. Sales of equipment also increased strongly by 62 per cent on the successful launch of the iPhone 3G. In this quarter, SingTel further extended its lead in the mobile market.

The Singapore business reported a 10 per cent increase in revenue to S$1.33 billion from S$1.21 billion a year ago.